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Main gear shimmy.

Python

Member
Hi, I have recently purchased a 2000 model RV 6 & noticed that it tends to shimmy on the mains a bit. It’s not serious & doesn’t do it all the time but can someone tell me if there is a fix ? Is it the geometry of the main gear legs or do they need tightening at the attach point ? Cheers 🐍.
 
Oh boy… lol yes this is normal, sort of.. use the search function, or Google it, there are stiffeners made of hardwood, soft wood, trim from Home Depot, even aluminum stiffeners.. some tape them on, others fiberglass and epoxy, some use adel clamps, others play with tire pressure, wheel Balance, fairing balancing.. the rest of us live with it.
 
Main gear shimmy

Check tire pressure, tire condition (worn, out if round?), and tire balance first. Tire/wheel alignment….. nothing you can do about it on the 6/6A. Also, how fast do you taxi, and what is the runway surface like? (Some guys taxi way too fast, RVs included). All these things can excite a gear shimmy event. Seems like the first approach recommend is always “install gear leg stiffeners”. I think the approach should be find out what is exciting/contributing to the shimmy first. I solved an occasional shimmy on my 6A by upping tire pressure a bit. Never have installed gear leg stiffeners.


Just remembered, I also balanced the first set of tires after having occasional shimmy. As for tire pressure, I bumped it up about 5psi because the original setting was too low. Later sets of (better?) tires have not had balance weights added, and all have run without shimmy.
 
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I have dealt with it since 2001 on my 6A. I've found that, for each set of tires, there is an air pressure maximum that will eliminate it. Meaning a do not exceed pressure. Generally, I've kept them at about 28psi max, although the Desser retreads allow me to run in the 35psi range. The prior post notes they have better luck at higher pressures, I've never heard that one before.

The gear, without stiffeners, which are really used to absorb and dissipate energy and not to act as stiffeners, is a classic spring and mass system with the only energy absorption of note being the internal friction of the tires. Lowering tire pressure increases the damping of the system. I'd start there.
 
Balancing the tires made the biggest difference on my -7A. Wood stiffeners didn’t help nor did tire pressures.
 
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